JPMorgan Chase & Co. Issues Positive Forecast for Cemex (NYSE:CX) Stock Price

Cemex (NYSE:CX) had its price objective upped by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $14.50 to $15.00 in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an overweight rating on the construction company’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley upgraded Cemex from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $14.00 target price for the company in a report on Monday, March 23rd. Barclays reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Cemex in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Cemex in a research note on Tuesday, May 26th. Santander upgraded shares of Cemex to an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, June 11th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $12.75 price target on shares of Cemex in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $12.83.

Cemex Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE CX opened at $12.17 on Wednesday. Cemex has a 1-year low of $7.17 and a 1-year high of $13.67. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $12.63 and its 200 day moving average is $12.15. The stock has a market cap of $17.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.03 and a beta of 1.52.

Cemex (NYSE:CX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 31st. The construction company reported $0.16 earnings per share for the quarter. Cemex had a net margin of 2.74% and a return on equity of 3.64%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Cemex will post 0.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cemex Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 29th. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 17th were given a dividend of $0.0312 per share. This is a positive change from Cemex’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.02. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, June 17th. This represents a $0.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. Cemex’s payout ratio is currently 37.50%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Cemex news, insider Herrera Jesus Vicente Gonzalez sold 35,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.16, for a total transaction of $425,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 846,010 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,287,481.60. This trade represents a 3.97% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in shares of Cemex by 84.9% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,529,612 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $40,721,000 after purchasing an additional 2,080,341 shares during the last quarter. TT International Asset Management LTD bought a new stake in shares of Cemex during the 4th quarter valued at about $2,781,000. Dorsey Wright & Associates bought a new stake in shares of Cemex during the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,402,000. Dodge & Cox increased its position in shares of Cemex by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 96,734,370 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $869,642,000 after purchasing an additional 1,710,535 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Schroder Investment Management Group lifted its stake in shares of Cemex by 66.8% in the 3rd quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 5,205,330 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $46,796,000 after purchasing an additional 2,084,365 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.97% of the company’s stock.

Cemex Company Profile

Cemex (NYSE: CX) is a global building materials company headquartered in Monterrey, Mexico. The company produces, distributes and sells cement, ready-mix concrete and aggregates, as well as related building materials, to construction markets in more than 50 countries. Cemex’s product portfolio also includes asphalt and mortar mixes, waste-derived fuels and other complementary construction solutions, supported by a network of production facilities, distribution centers and logistics operations.

Founded in 1906 as Cementos Hidalgo, the company adopted the Cemex name in 1976 following a series of domestic mergers and expansions.